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Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 2.5 “Killer In A Halloween Mask”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Hunter faces off against a scarred killer wearing a mask!  Pretty scary, kids!

Episode 2.5 “Killer In A Halloween Mask”

(Dir by Sidney Hayers and Michael Peerce, originally aired on October 26th, 1985)

After getting the bill for yet another high-speed chase involving Hunter and McCall, Captain Wyler (the great Bruce Davison) decides that they need to take a week off from causing trouble.  He assigns them to work as technical advisors for a cop show called Street Heat. 

At first, everything seems fine.  Hunter hits on the publicity woman.  The star of the show, J.J. Hendrix (Stephen Shortridge), asks McCall out to dinner.  But then, one night, a man in a cheap plastic mask breaks into Hendrix’s house, bashes in his skull in with a fireplace poker, and sprays acid on the star’s face!  (I guess he wasn’t a fan of the last season of Welcome Back Kotter.)

A masked killer is targeting the cast and crew of Street Heat!  Hunter and McCall suspect that it might be Dave Tolan (Gary Graham), the former star of the show whose career ended when he set himself on fire while freebasing.  The horribly scarred Dave now works at a wax museum and has access to all sorts of chemicals and acids.  Plus, Hendrix was dating Dave’s ex-girlfriend….

And, of course, Hunter and McCall are correct.  We know that they’re correct because we see Dave plotting the murders at the start of the episode.  I have to admit that I spent the entire episode waiting for some sort of twist.  I thought Dave would have an accomplice or something similar.  But nope, it’s just Dave.  It all leads to a confrontation in the wax museum.  During a struggle with Hunter, Dave gets impaled.  Hunter doesn’t say, “Works for me,” but you can tell that he’s thinking it.

There weren’t any big surprises in this episode but I still enjoyed it.  It aired on October 26th and it was obviously produced with Halloween  in mind.  The late Gary Graham gave an appropriately unhinged performance as Dave.  The scenes on the set of Street Heat also served as a commentary on Hunter as a show.  After watching Hendrix “shoot” a suspect in a scene that felt like it could have been lifted from any episode of Hunter, McCall and Hunter commented that Street Heat wasn’t very realistic.

Fans of washed-up politicians will be happy to see Jesse “The Body” Ventura in this episode.  He shows up at the start of the show.  He’s been arrested for attacking his dentist.  Ventura complains about his toothache.  Hunter knocks the tooth out of his mouth.  Ventura thanks him.  Whenever I see Jesse Ventura in an old TV show or movie, I always regret that Arnold Schwarzenegger was the only other future governor that he co-starred with.  If Fred Dryer had later been elected governor of California, this episode would have been legendary.

Governor Dryer.  It has a nice ring to it.

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 2.4 “Rich Girl”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Hunter and McCall investigate a rich girl for murder.

Episode 2.4 “Rich Girl”

(Dir by James Whitmore, Jr., originally aired on October 19th, 1985)

When an elderly millionaire named Ralph Flagg (Robert Rockwell) is shot and nearly killed, his much younger wife, Ginger (Lois Hamilton), is arrested for the crime. Even though she’s acquitted, McCall and Hunter continue to believe Ginger tried to kill her husband for his money. When Ginger plunges off a balcony, they start to have their doubts. What if the mastermind behind the violence is actually Ralph’s daughter, Cynthia (Dorian Lopinto)? Hunter goes undercover as a former basketball player turned golf hustler and gets close to both Cynthia and her loutish boyfriend, Bradley (John Calvin).

The plot doesn’t provide as many twists as one might hope. From the start, it’s made clear that Cynthia and Bradley are the murderers. Bradley may be the more openly evil of the two, but Cynthia is definitely the mastermind. When it starts to seem as if Bradley is going to turn on her, Cynthia shoots him and then claims it was self-defense. When it appears that Cynthia is going to get away with that murder as well, Hunter and McCall convince Ralph to change his will so Cynthia must confess to her crimes if she wants to inherit his fortune. Cynthia responds by going home, grinding a couple of pills into her ice cream, and then apparently committing suicide while a tear rolls down her cheek.

Agck!

That ending really took me by surprise. Cynthia went from being the episode’s villain to an almost tragic figure. That said, I’m not really a fan of Hunter and McCall hounding people into suicide. I would much rather they just make good arrests, but that’s not their style.

At least this episode didn’t end with Hunter saying, “Works for me.”

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/20/26 — 9/26/20

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Again, this week was largely about getting ready for Horrorthon.

I did take the time to watch Big Brother.  I’m so excited.  Only a few more days to go and then this season will be over with and I’ll never have to think about it again!  We are now down to the final three houseguests.  I imagine that next Thursday, Devens will defeat Drew by a vote of 6-1.  I’ve written a little about Big Brother over at the Reality TV Chat Blog.

I was happy to see Survivor return.  I wrote about my thoughts on the first episode of season 51 here.  I’m looking forward to the start of The Amazing Race on Wednesday.

On Netflix, SCTV continues to bring me happiness.  This week, I watched a parody of The Godfather and I got to know Sammy Maudlin and his favorite guest, Bobby Bittman.

I also watched and reviewed episodes of Saved By The Bell, Hunter, 1st & Ten, Degrassi, and Sledge Hammer!

 

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 2.3 “The Biggest Man In Town”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Hunter and McCall investigate a murder!  Yes, another one.

Episode 2.3 “The Biggest Man In Town”

(Dir by Bob Bravler, originally aired on October 5th, 1985)

When Charles Lattimer (Gregory Itzin), a man with no criminal record, is found executed gangland-style, Hunter and McCall suspect that it was more than just random California violence.  After they find out that Lattimer was last seen alive while having a tense lunch at an expensive French restaurant, they decide to go undercover in Lattimer’s home town, an exclusive resort full of rich people and women in bikinis.

Hunter, pretending to be an oceanographer, meets Lattimer’s girlfriend, librarian Amy Lauton (Nana Visitor).  McCall, pretending to be an aspiring singer, meets the biggest man in town, insurance tycoon Raymond Bellamy (Stuart Whitman).

Now, we already know that Bellamy is the one who ordered Lattimer’s death.  Bellamy is the man with whom Lattimer had his final lunch.  Lattimer was blackmailing Bellamy over a case of insurance fraud.  We also know that the execution was carried out by Sheriff Johnson (Don Stroud).  We know all this because we saw it at the beginning of the episode.  There’s no real mystery here.

Then again, this episode isn’t about mystery.  It’s about Hunter and McCall getting away from Los Angeles for a while.  It’s about McCall getting to sing three songs at the resort’s premier nightclub.  It’s about Hunter getting distracted every time a woman in a bikini walks by.  Mostly, it’s just about the chemistry between Hunter and McCall.  It doesn’t matter how many people die, they’ve always got a quip to trade.

Actually, not that many people die in this episode. Lattimer dies.  His father is murdered.  But otherwise, this episode is almost peaceful by Hunter standards.  For once. Hunter and McCall arrest the bad guys instead of killing them.  Getting out of Los Angeles must have mellowed them.

This episode was entertaining but forgettable.  The story was nothing special but the Hunter/McCall chemistry was enjoyable.  Hunter and McCall are solving crimes and having fun!  Good for them.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/13/26 — 9/19.26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Once again, this week was more about getting ready for our annual October Horrorthon than watching television.  Here’s a few thoughts on what I did watch.

The latest season of Big Brother is slowly coming to an end.  I’ve kind of been writing about it over at Reality TV Chat Blog.  As I mentioned over there, I’ve found it next to impossible to really get into this season.  I am, however, looking forward to a new season of Survivor on the 23rd and a new season of The Amazing Race on the 30th!

On Monday and Tuesday, I watched several episodes of the E! True Hollywood Story on YouTube.  Most of the uploads were taken straight from old VHS recordings and, as such, they came with the commercials that aired with the show.  I was in history nerd heaven!  I watched episodes about Rodney Harvey, Growing Pains, Three’s Company, the Brat Pack, and more!

On Wednesday, I watched an episode of SCTV on Netflix.  It was a 30-minute parody of Fantasy Island.  I laughed so hard that I almost fell off my couch.  I loved Eugene Levy and John Candy as Roarke and “Patoo.”

On Friday night, I watched an episode of something called Turn of The Century.  It aired on New York public access television in the 90s.  It was very experimental and deliberately arty and I got bored with it.  It was trying a bit too hard.

I also watched and reviewed episodes of Degrassi, CHiPs, Pacific Blue, Hunter, and Sledge Hammer!

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 2.2 “Night of the Dragons”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, Hunter and McCall get involved in a gang war in Chinatown!

Episode 2.2 “Night of the Dragons”

(Dir by James Whitmore, Jr, originally aired on September 28th, 1985)

McCall’s desire to try out a Chinese restaurant leads to her and Hunter witnessing a shootout and an apparent murder in Chinatown. (It’s “apparent” because the body disappears in all the confusion.) A war is brewing between two gang lords, the Chinese Chang (James Hong) and the Vietnamese Mr. Nim (Arsenio “Sonny” Trinidad). However, when Hunter and McCall try to investigate, they’re told to let the “Asian Affairs Unit” handle things.

Hunter suspects that an old friend, Detective Raymond Lau (Clyde Kusatsu), has gone crooked and is now working for Chang. It turns out Hunter is half-right. Lau is giving information to Chang, but only because Chang has kidnapped his daughter and is holding her hostage. Chang, it turns out, likes to kidnap people. For instance, he kidnaps McCall. How often can McCall get kidnapped? It seems to happen fairly frequently.

This was another action-packed episode of Hunter. Every few minutes, someone is either shooting a gun or threatening to. Meanwhile, McCall just wanted to find a nice Chinese place to eat. It’s obvious that, with the second season, the show had found a formula that worked for it and was determined to stick to it. This episode benefited from strong guest performances from Hong, Trinidad, and especially Clyde Kusatsu.

That said, I do wish this episode had explored its themes a bit more deeply. It’s mentioned that Hunter served in Vietnam, but it’s mostly just a throwaway reference used to explain how Hunter knew that the bullets recovered from a crime scene had been fired by Mr. Nim’s gang. The rivalry between the Chinese Chang and the Vietnamese Nim also serves as a reminder of the Vietnam War, but again, the episode doesn’t really dig into it. At one point, Chang says that Lau is weak because he was born not in China but in America, and again, it’s hard not to feel that the episode missed an opportunity to dig deeper with both men.

(I’ll also mention that, at one point, McCall compares one of the Chinese gangsters to Godzilla. Godzilla, needless to say, is part of Japan’s culture and not China’s.)

This was a good episode of Hunter that felt like it had the potential to be so much more.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 9/6/26 — 9/12/126

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Again, I didn’t watch much TV this week.  I wish I could say that it was because I was busy watching horror movies in anticipation of Horrorthon but mostly it was just because I wasn’t feeling that good.  I started out with a touch of arthritis in my big toe making it difficult for me to walk or sleep.  Luckily that only lasted a day.  However, as soon as that was vanquished, I ended getting hit by my allergies.  I was congested all the way through Friday.  On the plus side, I recovered enough that, on Saturday, I could go outside and spray a bunch of wasps that were trying to build a nest on the side of the empty house next to mine.

I did watch Big Brother.  I kind of wrote about it over at Reality TV Chat Blog.  The show just hasn’t done much for me this year.

I watched a few episodes of SCTV on Netflix.  Love that Count Floyd!

And then I watched and reviewed episodes of Pacific Blue, Hunter, and Sledge Hammer! 

Yep, I didn’t do anything this week.

Other than suffer….

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 2.1 “Case X”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, we begin the second season!

Episode 2.1 “Case X”

(Dir by David Soul, originally aired on September 21st, 1985)

Adult-film actresses are turning up dead all over Los Angeles. Hunter and McCall have the case, and it does not take them long to see the pattern. The killer is sleazy photographer Tony Cochran (Leo Rossi), and the women are being supplied to him by former adult star turned talent agent Andrea Burden (Rita Taggart). Knowing who the murderer is and having the evidence to arrest him are two different things. After Tony murders his brother (Sam Anderson) and frames him for the crimes, it looks as if Tony might walk.

So, of course, McCall goes undercover. She joins the fitness club where Andrea works out and looks for girls. She poses in lingerie for Tony. (Just as in the first season, McCall going undercover seems to largely mean McCall wearing less clothes than usual.) And when Tony kidnaps her, it is up to Hunter to rescue her and fill Tony with lead.

In other words, the second season of Hunter opens in a style familiar to anyone who watched the first. Hunter is still a shoot-first rebel. McCall is still his continually in-peril partner. The bad guy still underestimates this violent duo. While Hunter and McCall solve the crimes and kill the villains, Bernie Terwilliger keeps trying to write them up for every infraction imaginable. In this episode, Terwilliger counts seven violations of police policy on the part of Hunter and McCall. I counted a bit more but maybe Terwilliger was trying to be charitable.

The one real change between seasons is a new commanding officer. John Amos has been replaced by Bruce Davison. As Captain Wyler, Davison wears a three-piece suit, never has a hair out of place, and bristles when Hunter refuses to follow orders. That said, Wyler congratulates Hunter at the end of the episode and tells Terwilliger to back off the ethics investigation. For once, Hunter has a boss who is not actively trying to get him kicked off the force.

The episode itself is pretty predictable. As soon as Leo Rossi’s name appeared in the guest credits, it was easy to guess who the murderer would turn out to be. Hunter is not a show about complex mysteries or shocking twists. It is a show about the chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer, and about the promise that the bad guys will be punished. This episode delivered on both.

Lisa Marie’s Week In Television: 8/30/26 — 9/5/26

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone!

As is the tradition here at the TSL Bunker, this month has been all about getting ready for the annual October Horrorthon!  As a result, I’ve spent the previous few days watching a lot of horror movie and not a lot of television.  Here’s a few thoughts on what little I did watch.

I am still watching and occasionally writing about Big Brother 28.  I say that I’m “occasionally” writing about it because, even though I have a whole other blog devoted to the show, I have to admit that I’m kind of over this season of Big Brother.  The houseguests are not particularly likable.  The twists are even lamer than usual.  I’m still not sure why Julie Chen Moonves is still the host.  This show has been on the air for 26 years and Julie still seems to struggle with the basics.  I was happy that Devens survived this week.  Go Devens!  You can read my thoughts on Big Brother at Reality TV Chat Blog.

Along with Big Brother, I watched an episode of Big Brother Unlocked, which is the companion series that also airs on CBS.  It’s not much of a show but it’s still obvious that co-host Jerry O’Connell is being groomed to take over the main show when and if Julie ever quits.  This week, Jay Mohr was a special guest.  Jay said he was a Big Brother superfan but he did not sound very convincing.  The other guest was Zingbot.  I have no idea what Zingbot had to say about the show.  I can never understand a word that stupid robot is saying.

Why do I  still watch Big Brother if I hate it so much?  It’s a case of nostalgia.  When I was growing up, I watched Big Brother with my mom.  It was our little tradition.  When I watch the show today, it brings back a lot of memories.  Plus, I’m pretty sure mom would have hated this season as well.  This was our favorite show to complain about.

On Thursday, I watched a Rangers game with my sister, the dazzling Erin,  The Rangers won!  Yay!  I’m not a big baseball fan but, as all of our regular readers should know by now, my sister is.  When the Rangers win, that makes her happy and it makes me happy for her.

On Wednesday, as I watched for Big Brother to start, I watched episodes of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.  I took some pride in the fact that I was apparently smarter than the contestants on Jeopardy.  As for Wheel of Fortune, it just didn’t feel right for the show to be hosted by anyone other than Pat Sajak.  The day after I watched, I read that the Wheel of Fortune announcer was kicked off a plane for looking at an inappropriate site.  Yikes!

On Friday night, Jeff and I joined our friend Pat in watching three episodes of a British sitcom called Robin’s Nest.  It was a show about a swinging guy in London who ended up living in a tiny flat with two single women.  The landlord thought he was gay and I thought he needed a haircut.  The show was later adapted for American audiences as Three’s Company.  I’ve only seen a few episodes of Three’s Company and I have to admit that I’ve never really cared much for it, if just because the constant misunderstandings were a bit stressful to watch and gave me a headache.

After Robin’s Nest, we watched a show called called Midnight Rider on Night Flight Plus.  It was a deliberately surreal sketch comedy show that was obviously designed to be a “cult” hit.  We all agreed never to watch the show again.  It was annoying.

SCTV, a Canadian comedy show from the late 70s and early 80s, is now available on Netflix!  I watched a few episodes on Friday and Saturday and, despite being 50 years old, the show is still very funny.  My favorite character was Count Floyd.  I had to force myself to stop watching because it was distracting me from doing my Horrorthon reviews.  However, I look forward to returning to SCTV in November!

As for my Retro Television reviews, I watched episodes of Degrassi, CHiPs, Pacific Blue, 1st & Ten, Hunter, Sledge Hammer, and Saved By The Bell this week!  I’m trying to get all of my Retro Television Reviews for October written in September so I can devote October solely to horror.   Wish me luck!

 

Late Night Retro Television Review: Hunter 1.19 “Sniper”

Posted on by Lisa Marie Bowman

Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Thursdays, I will be reviewing Hunter, which aired on NBC from 1984 to 1991.  The entire show is currently streaming on Tubi and several other services!

This week, the first season of Hunter comes to a close.

Episode 1.19 “Sniper”

(Dir by James Whitmore, Jr., originally aired on May 18th, 1985)

Someone is using a sniper rifle to target blonde women who visit a national park. Hunter suspects that the sniper might have Army training, and he focuses his investigation on a nearby military base. Hunter’s instincts are correct. Early on, we’re shown that the sniper is Sgt. Dennis Balzer (Jack Starrett, the actor/director who also played the abusive cop who fell out of the helicopter in First Blood). Years ago, Balzer’s heart was broken by a blonde woman, and now he’s seeking revenge by killing every blonde he sees. It’s always odd to me how Hunter, a show about a detective, never seemed to try to generate any suspense as to who was going to turn out to be guilty. Instead, we usually learn the killer’s identity before Hunter does.

Meanwhile, Hunter also has to deal with something even scarier than a sniper: he’s being audited by the IRS. James Cromwell appears as the IRS agent, who eventually ends up auditing the entire department.

Since its very first episode, Hunter has been a violent show. Both Hunter and McCall have been portrayed as shoot-first, ask-questions-later types of cops, though Hunter does seem to be a much better shot than McCall. This episode was even more violent than usual, and the mix of innocent people getting shot in the head with comedic scenes about tax evasion sometimes felt a bit awkward. That said, who doesn’t hate the IRS? (Anyone who enjoys paying taxes is a commie sap.) I was glad to see that Hunter had the same attitude.

This episode brings the first season of Hunter to a close. Looking over the first season, it can be argued that more than a few of the episodes featured stories that felt a bit generic. The idea of Hunter being the son of a mobster was abandoned early on. And while the violence was undoubtedly part of the show’s appeal, it still feels strange that Hunter can kill so many people every week without getting into any trouble over it. What made this season work was the chemistry between Fred Dryer and Stepfanie Kramer. Fred Dryer may not have been the greatest actor in the world, but he had an engaging smile, he could deliver a one-liner, and the showrunners obviously understood that the sight of the very tall Dryer crammed into a broken-down car would more than make up for what he may have lacked in range. As for Stepfanie Kramer, the first season showed that she could hold her own in the action scenes, and her banter with Dryer was usually the highlight of each episode. That was certainly the case here.

Next week, we start the second season!